DIARY OF DREAMS NIGREDO ALBUM BOX ACCESSION RELEASE: OCTOBER 25, 2004 REVIEW: DECEMBER 10, 2004

For those not acquainted with Diary of Dreams, it is the project of Accession Records label head Adrian Hates (one-time bassist for Garden of Delight many moons ago) and it has existed since 1994. The name of the band comes from a song title which Adrian had for quite some time.
This act has released over ten albums, and for their last work "Freak Perfume" began issuing singles. The Diary of Dreams sound is easily described as archetypal darkwave with many classical/baroque/cinematic elements. Each successive work which the band has released finds them refining their sound and with "Nigredo", they've hit the mark.
Preceded by the excellent "Giftraum" single, "Nigredo" is the feel of paranoia/winter/dusk all rolled into one with ecstatic precision. "Kindrom" is perhaps one of the more straight forward works but it is so slick I cannot complain about it. "Reign of Chaos" builds slowly but pays off grandly, with Adrian giving his all as the music thunders like an angry, cold and desolate sea.
The box set version of this album is beautifully rendered with a lush booklet containing the lyrics scattered about the place. Also contained within are some very stark, crisp images of both the band and the deserted landscape which they inhabit for this release. "Nigredo" tells a most unsettling tale, set amongst its magnificently cascading crescendos you become immersed in the varying degrees of mental decay this work surely describes. Torch songs for the final curtain call.
I do not know how this band manages to improve so dramatically from album to album, they remain a unique voice in the world of electronic music. Dark, sensual... resplendent in their reclusive kingdom.

PETER MARKS